Cripple Creek

Cripple Creek, village (1990 pop. 584), alt. 9,375 ft (2,858 m), seat of Teller co., central Colo.; inc. 1892. Primarily a summer resort, it was once a gold-mining boomtown. The discovery of gold (1891) on a cattle ranch created one of the richest camps of a major gold-producing area. In 1901 the district had an estimated population of 50,000. Gold production declined after that year, but the opening of a drainage tunnel in 1941 reactivated formerly flooded mines and led to the discovery of new veins. Violence marked miners' strikes in 1893 and 1904. The old mines and casino gambling are tourist attractions.